Halo Wars (Limited Edition) Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Halo Wars is a Real-Time Strategy game, which is a genre that has historically thrived on PCs due to its use of precise, complex controls. Ensemble Studios has done their best to adapt these controls to consoles without dumbing them down, but that means you'll need to learn the uses of every button on your 360 pad. Learning to use the D-pad is one essential tool:

Tapping Right after an Alert sends you to its location (such as the location of an enemy encounter)

Tapping Left cycles through your bases

Tapping Down cycles through armies

Another essential control skill to master is Right Trigger selection. If you hit the Left bumper to select all your troops, you can then tap the Right Trigger to cycle through them. It's a bit clunky, but if you need your Hornets to race to the frontline without being hindered by your slowpoke ground forces, this selection method is indispensible.

Garrisons

While you can build Reactors and Supply Pads all you want on your own base, the former can begin to strain your Supply resources pretty fast -- the cost of a Reactor doubles with each purchase. On most maps there are Forerunner Supply Pads and Reactors that can be captured. In Skirmish these may be guarded by a small, neutral force. You can direct infantry to garrison these spare buildings. While the buildings can always be destroyed by your enemy, the advantage of a free Reactor or Supply Pad is obvious.

In addition to these structures, you may also encounter Sniper Towers and Cover Spots for Infantry to garrison for an extra defensive boost. Finally, Covenant Mega turrets can also by captured by any force and used to wreak havoc within their limited range.

Troop Types

The three main troop types, Infantry (Marines, Elites etc.), Air (Hornets, Banshees etc.) and Ground units (Wraiths, Scorpions etc.), have basic strengths and weaknesses that must be acknowledged.

Infantry: Strong against Air units; Weak against Ground units

Air: Strong against Ground units; Weak against Infantry units

Ground: Weak against Air units; Strong against Infantry units

But War isn't as simple as Rock-Paper-Scissors. Certain infantry, Spartans and Hunters, are actually specifically adept at destroying (or jacking) Ground units. Turret, which can be mounted around bases, can be designated to repel a specific unit type once they have been built. These are in indispensible resource for protecting your base. However, there are Units designed specifically as 'building crushers,' the Covenant Locusts and UNSC Cyclops Units, that will deal out massive damage to bases and structures alone.

Getting Around

You'll notice quickly that not everyone gets to the frontline at the same rate. While the UNSC's Warthogs and Hornets will zip quickly around the map, if you select them at the same time as infantry units, they'll adjust their pace to the latter. You'll find that keeping a small fleet of speedy vehicles on hand, separate from your armies, is essential for doing scouting (to disperse the fog and reveal enemy base and other structure locations) and supply collecting. Warthogs and Wraiths can collect supplies, but Air units cannot.

To really get around in style, you can call in a Pelican Transport or use the Covenant Teleporter. The former can only be used to drop troops into an area with friendlies in the vicinity, costs supplies, and is slow and susceptible to attacks. The Covenant Teleporter is an amazing resource, but can only send troops to a Leader's location. Lose your Leader and your Teleporter becomes useless.

Veterancy

Sometimes when you are in the thick of it you'll notice stars appearing above your units. These indicate a unit's "veterancy" rating. This complex system rewards units with bonus damage resistance and damage infliction based on their "service." You tend to gain more stars for downing more significant threats. Units that survive the longest tend to gain the most Veterancy bonuses. Keep healing those lucky, battered units and it will pay off in huge stat increases that can noticeably multiply a unit's effectiveness.